SHILLONG: The State Government has rejected the demand for judicial inquiry into the incident of custodial death of Balsan Marak.
“We will wait for the report of the magisterial probe and also the report of the Commissioner of divisions PW Ingty into the matter,” Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told reporters on Thursday.
There was also demand for the removal of Tura SP M K Singh for his alleged role in the torture of the victim. However, the Chief Minister said that the Government cannot jump into conclusion on the allegations of police excesses.
“Government has to go by the facts before jumping into conclusion”, Sangma asserted.
Meanwhile, Garo Hills based student and social organizations have called for a public meeting in Tura on May 27 over the custodial death of Marak.
The public rally, scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3 PM in Chandmari playground has been called jointly by the Garo Students’ Union, FKJGP- Garo Hills zone, A’chik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO), Association for Democracy and Empowerment, and the powerful North Eastern Students’ Organization (NESO) of which the GSU is an important member.
AHRC demand: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), meanwhile, has demanded an impartial investigation into the incident.
The custodial death was brought to the notice of AHRC by CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing.
The AHRC said a letter should be sent to the authorities expressing concern about this case and requesting an immediate impartial investigation.
Stating that investigation must be monitored by a judicial officer as otherwise the investigation might get jeopardized and evidences might be tampered with and distorted by the police, AHRC said that the accused police officers must be suspended till the investigation was completed. AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, calling for immediate intervention in this case.
Balsan, who died on May 20, was arrested under dubious circumstances on charges of kidnapping and torture of women. He was in police custody overnight and on the next day he was produced before a magistrate. He was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days and lodged in Tura District jail.
